The Mayan Domestic Space: A Look Under Heidegger's Precepts On Inhabiting

Abstract

Due to its central role in the culture, the traditional Maya domestic space, the solar, has been addressed in countless studies that, while they haven’t made it their primary object of study, nevertheless discuss aspects of dwelling. With the goal of bringing together some of these contributions, this article makes a theoretical reflection on Maya dwelling through the precepts put forward by Heidegger, proving that the way of producing the solar can be considered, in the author’s terms, to be a construction. Seen through this perspective, the solar, even though its result is that of dwelling, is conceived as an indispensable element that gives meaning to the lives of its inhabitants. It is therefore much more than a tangible, material production, calling into question our modern, western ways of doing architecture in the 21st Century.